


It's Funny What You Notice If You Just Look

by seriouslysamson



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Brief mentions of other Achievement Hunters, Fluff, M/M, and Joe the Cat, language warning, seriously though this is pure sap pretty much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-23
Updated: 2014-08-23
Packaged: 2018-02-14 10:02:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2187570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seriouslysamson/pseuds/seriouslysamson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Joel has been persuaded into helping Achievement Hunter make more Minecraft Let's Plays, and Ray is enjoying the experience.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Funny What You Notice If You Just Look

**Author's Note:**

> I actually wrote this about a year ago for my old blog, which has since been deleted. I've edited it a little bit, and hopefully it's now better than it was back then. I hope you enjoy it!

Ray had been spending way too much time lately watching Joel. He had been persuaded (more like blackmailed really) into doing another couple of Minecraft Let's Plays with them, so he was spending a lot of time in the Achievement Hunter office. And Ray found it unusually difficult to keep his eyes off of him. Joel would share Geoff's screen and desk, so while they were playing he would have to turn around to see him. He couldn't do that; his performance in the Let's Plays would be awful. So he settled for watching him while they were setting up, always casual, always subtle. He noticed a lot.

Joel was an actor by nature; there was nothing he couldn't hide if he didn't want you to see it. But when they were talking and laughing during set-up, he was unguarded. Ray realised he had two basic sitting stances: leaning back with his arms spread wide or slouching forwards with his hands in his lap or on the desk. And quite often his hands would be partially covered by the sleeves of his hoodie. He always had a Starbucks cup with him as well, full of either strong coffee or disgusting-smelling tea.

He fidgeted with his hands when he was nervous or when he was arguing with someone, and that was pretty frequent; Gavin liked to rile Joel up as much as possible to see him get flustered. It could be hard to tell when that was, though, because he talked with his hands anyway. He was always making weird gestures. And he babbled. God, did he. And when Jack got going at the same time as him, that was it. No one could get a word in edgeways for a couple of minutes; Geoff had been forced to tell them both to shut up several times.

But Ray's favourite thing was the way Joel listened to people. Quite often he'd still have a smile on his face, and he'd narrow his eyes and tilt his head a little to the side. It was something he could never look at for more than a couple of seconds. If he didn't turn away, he'd start to smile as well, giving the game away. Joel never noticed him watching, and he didn't want him to. For now, it was his big secret; his guilty pleasure. He wanted it to stay that way.

  
*

  
Joel got in early as usual. They were due to film another Let's Play today. He wasn't particularly enthusiastic. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with any of them; he just wasn't used to dealing with the people and the noise. Well, he was. But not for two hours straight and most often not from within the same room. He needed to go into the annexe to fetch something, so headed over there.

There wasn't anyone around out here yet, he knew, so he unlocked the door. But as soon as he opened it, Joe the cat shot out and dashed away into the main building. Joel swore under his breath and wearily headed after the dumb animal. He wandered through the corridors calling his name and making stupid beckoning noises in the hope he might emerge from somewhere and be nice. But no, he stuck to whatever shady corner he was hiding in. The longer he looked, the more fed up he got.

Finally, after searching for about ten minutes, he saw Joe dash through the partially open door of the Achievement Hunter office. He didn't expect anyone to be in there; he thought he could just go and get him and take him back to the annexe. But through the door, he heard someone speak, recognising Ray's voice:

"Hey, Joe. What are you doing here?" Joel opened the door more fully and poked his head in. Ray had the cat in his lap, stroking him as he purred. For a moment, he didn't look up, and Joel just watched him smiling. Finally he cleared his throat and said:

"Uh, hi Ray. Can I take Joe back? He escaped from the annexe." Ray finally looked up.

"Oh, sure. D'you want me to bring him?"

"If... You want to?" Joel shrugged and held the door open as Ray picked Joe up and carried him out into the corridor. Joel kept watching as the cat nuzzled into the crook of Ray's arm.

"That cat loves you, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess so.”

"I don't think he really likes me."

"Nah, Joe likes everybody, he doesn't give a fuck."

"Mm. Well, I like him; he's great, for a cat. It's just that he's a pain in the ass sometimes. Like now."

"That always seems weird to me."

"What does?"

"That you like animals, and you get on with them. You don't seem like that kind of person, you know?"

"Yeah, I see where you're coming from."

"I mean... You're neurotic, right?” Ray laughed. “Bordering on insane."

"Yeah. I don't mean to be, but I am. That's just what happens, I guess." He shrugged again. They kept walking in silence for a couple of minutes, across the parking lot towards the annexe.

"Uh... Sorry if I offended you or anything." Ray said.

"Oh, no, no. I'm just... Thinking in detail about my shortcomings." Joel smiled, but what was meant to be a joke fell dreadfully flat as they walked into the office where Joe was meant to stay. Ray put him down on the couch and started picking the cat fur off his shirt.

"When you say shortcomings, what do you mean?" He asked.

"It was supposed to be a joke." Joel explained.

"Well, it was a pretty shitty one. Anyway, I'd better go. Bye, Joel." Ray left the office, but Joel ran after him and caught him just outside the door, grabbing his arm to stop him.

"Why were you here so early this morning, Ray?" He asked. “Just… out of curiosity.”

"I don't know. Guess I had nothing better to do. Why were _you_ here so early?"

"I have things to set up.”

"Who says I don't? We have a Let's Play later, don't we?" Ray smirked, and Joel tried to stare him down for a moment. When he didn't manage it, he said:

"Alright, you win this round."

"Damn right I do. See ya, Joel."

"Yeah, see you later." Ray walked out of the annexe, and Joel watched him go, slightly bemused but mainly glad he was gonna get to work with this idiot.

Meanwhile, said idiot was crossing the parking lot. He was shaking a little from that encounter. It had shown him something else too, something he'd known but forgotten; Joel liked to get up in people's faces. Actually, mainly _his_ face. He remembered that one episode of AHWU when he got so close Ray genuinely wondered if he was going to kiss him. Oh, and he'd pushed his glasses off too. He'd been a little shaky after _that_ encounter as well. Go figure, he thought.

Still, he'd outwitted him in the end, and that was the main thing. A smirk could put anyone off their intentions, and Joel was easy to derail. What Ray couldn't believe was that he'd convinced him, with two simple sentences, that he'd been setting up for the Let's Play. Of course he hadn't; it wasn't until the afternoon, and it wasn't even nine am yet. Still shaky, but feeling more confident, he headed back into the office, sat down, and carried on playing Halo.

  
*

  
They started setting up for the Let's Play as soon as everyone was back from lunch. Geoff opened the game and sent invites so that everyone could get into Achievement City. Jack dealt out the microphones and tried to organise the audio. Meanwhile the rest of them were joking about in the background. Gavin was happily irritating Michael, trying to pull on a lock of his curly hair. Ryan was egging him on and Ray just laughed. Joel sat through the whole thing with a vaguely bemused smile on his face. Finally, Michael lost it.

"Gavin, you little asshole, leave my fucking hair alone!"

"Alright, alright." Gavin replied, but a few seconds later he reached over and tugged on a curl while Michael wasn't looking.

"GAVIN! I swear to god, I am gonna beat the shit out of you." Gavin squawked as Michael turned on him.

"Leave him alone Gavin." Geoff said without turning around. "You two are so immature. My daughter's less of a little kid than you."

"At this point you could use a babysitter." Ray interjected. Geoff laughed and Michael reached over to hit him half-heartedly. Ray just dodged and grinned. He tried to steal a sideways glance at Joel, and saw that he was laughing silently, one hand over his eyes, like an extended facepalm. While no one was looking, he wheeled his chair backwards and prodded Joel in the side, before pushing himself back to his desk quickly. Joel himself was under no illusions as to where the poke had come from. He wanted to return it, but they were almost ready to play, and about to start capturing. So instead he called:

"I'm gonna slay you, Narvaez." He tried to make it sound like he was only talking about Minecraft, and sure enough, the others reacted accordingly with a chorus of ‘ohhh’s.

"Sure you are." Ray replied. He put on his headphones and got ready to play.

  
*

  
"BrownMan wins again, bitches!" Ray threw his hands up in celebration and whooped. Gavin got up, filming as Ray took the Tower of Pimps from Jack's desk across the room and put it on his own block of obsidian. Joel just watched, swivelling from side to side in his chair, fingers steepled, looking highly amused. As Ray pulled a stupid face for the camera, Joel stood up behind him and pushed his hands through Ray's hair from the back, making it stick up in all directions. Ray ducked away, but not before Gavin, laughing like a hyena, managed to catch his startled face on camera.

Ray backed off from Joel, who was also laughing. He tried to flatten his hair and ignore the ghost shivers that were running through him from where Joel's hands had rested just a second too long. The others went back to what they were doing, stopping the captures and unplugging audio equipment. Joel and Ray stood staring at one another for a moment. Ray was shaking a little again, but he didn't break his gaze. The look he was getting in return was full of sarcasm and the promise of a challenge. Suddenly a hand intruded in his field of vision and he was brought back to reality. Jack stood in front of him.

"Hey, Ray. If I can interrupt your moment of sexual tension, could you pass me your mic so I can put it away?"

"Oh. Uh, yeah, sure." He turned and picked up the microphone, feeling his face flush red. As he handed it over, he heard Geoff sitting behind Joel chuckling. Joel himself was completely unabashed, his wide grin the aftermath of his laughter. Ray tried to glare at him, but every time he managed to assemble the right expression, he caught sight of that grin and lost it. He sat down again and gave up.

  
*

  
It was Friday, and so hot and sunny that just going outside was like being hit in the face with a wall of warm feathers. Most people in the Achievement Hunter office weren’t here yet, and Ray didn’t blame them. It was still early, but the office was already swelteringly hot, and it would only get worse as the sun shone through the window.

He was sitting back in his chair, watching the screen as his Mac booted up, when who should walk into the office but Joel. Ray noted that he was wearing that goddamn dark grey t-shirt with long sleeves and shoulder seams that rested too low, at the top of his arms. That shirt was the bane of Ray's life and Joel surely knew it.

"Morning, Ray." Joel said. Ray wasn't sure whether to go for polite or teasing, so decided on a mild insult instead:

"Morning, asshole."

"Asshole? You're the asshole."

"After yesterday? No. Anyway, we’re all assholes here, right?"

"Mainly just us, I think." Joel walked over and sat in Michael's chair, spinning around to face Ray. "So, how are you?"

"I'm... Yeah, I'm good. I guess. You?"

"Ah, y'know."

"Still convinced you've got every deadly disease on the planet?"

"Yeah."

"Watching the stock market?"

"Yeah, it's not looking good. Everything's gone way down suddenly."

"Oh. Can I stop you before you try to have a conversation with me about it? Cause I don't have a fucking clue what any of that means."

"Want me to explain it?"

"I'm good, thanks." There was a silence that was full of staring and then awkward avoidance of one another's eyes. Finally, Joel decided this needed to stop.

"Alright. So what's been happening these past few days?"

"What do you mean?"

"With us. I'm an awkward fucker as it is, but you're normally Mr Confidence. What's with that?" He asked it so innocently, but Ray just shook his head, trying not to laugh.

"Man, you... You are a pain in the ass when you wanna be."

"I have experience at that."

"Yeah. You _know_ what's going on. Don't you?"

"I think so. I'd like some first-hand confirmation, though."

"Uh... What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know. Tell me why you're attracted to me." Ray laughed at the ease with which he said it.

“Are you sure you wanna go there?"

"Yeah. I wanna know."

"Uh..." Ray thought for a moment about all those things he'd noticed while Joel had been working with him. "To start with, the stupid habits. The coffee. That weird ass way you talk sometimes, the Caboose voice. Um... The fact that you get up in my face constantly, and only _my_ face, I've noticed, lately at least. Your stupid hair. The way you look when you concentrate on people. Do I need to go on?" Joel was stunned into silence for a second.

"Um. Wow. I don't know whether to throw up or be flattered."

"Try both."

"Is that all... Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

"You have way too much free time."

"I notice shit. You were there, I looked at you. That's what I noticed."

"Well... Yeah. Okay. I'm quite attracted to you too but I don't have a list of reasons. Just that you're a lunatic, but so am I so that's fine."

"Yeah. Right." Ray laughed. "Glad to hear that."

"So you should be." Joel pulled him in and kissed him, suddenly and a lot more passionately than he was expecting. It didn't last long but for the first time between them it wasn't bad. They stayed close for a few moments after their lips were no longer touching.

"I'm just gonna say one thing." Joel said quietly.

"What?"

"I am not calling you my boyfriend. I'm too old for that shit."

"Alright. Whatever. What _are_ you gonna call me?"

"Uh, Ray?"

"So we're not gonna tell anyone?"

"I think after the Let's Play they can figure it out for themselves."

"Yeah. You might be right."

"I am right."  


*

  
Saturday morning was odd. Ray woke up in Joel's bed in Joel's apartment wearing Joel's clothes, without having actually gone far with him. Underwear hadn't been removed. He certainly didn't _need_ to be wearing that goddamn dark grey t-shirt, but he was. It was huge on him but he was past the point of caring, especially as Joel was lying next to him, mumbling in his sleep, which was probably what woke him.

He moved closer to him, trying to be careful, not sure if he should touch him. Finally his jostling woke Joel up as well. He groaned and opened one eye. Ray's face was the last thing he expected to see in his half asleep state, and he opened his eyes properly and sat up. Then he remembered.

"Oh, man." He said, slumping back down. "And I wasn't even drunk, was I?"

"No. You having regrets?"

"No. I like having you here. You're a good guy. I… yeah. I’m glad you’re here."

"Good."

"I probably... I wanna keep doing this. I like you. A lot."

"You sound like an awkward high school kid."

"Yeah, well, maybe I've reverted to my past. Had a… regression or whatever."

"Mm-hm. You're babbling a bit."

"Sure." He stopped talking and mimed zipping his lips. Ray reached up and kissed him again, gently and tenderly. Joel broke off first in order to move lower in the bed and bury his head in Ray's chest, in his own shirt.

"I'm glad I've got you, Ray. Cause you're an idiot, but we're in the same boat, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Ray ran his fingers through Joel's fine, dark hair. "Can I ask you something?"

"It's a free country."

"You don't want us to call each other boyfriend?"

"No way."

"Well... Can I say I love you?"

"Isn't it a little soon for that?"

"I've felt like this for a while." Joel smiled.

"I wish I’d known." He thought about it. "Yeah, say it. Why not?"

"Alright. I love you, Joel."

"I love you too, Ray. Ya sappy kid."


End file.
